Successive Offer Communications with an Offer Recipient

• US 20120185315A1
• Filed: 03/22/2012
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: VonDerheide, James Alan, Dhamodharan, Rajasekaran
• Granted Patent: US 9,909,879 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.23
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

Successive offer communications are sent to an offer recipient. A first offer communication includes an offer of a merchant and the second offer communication includes an announcement about the offer. The first and second offer communications are each formatted to be rendered by respective communication device, such as a mobile phone of the offer recipient or a Point of Interaction (POI) terminal. The content of the offer communications may be tailored to the offer recipient based on the offer recipient'"'"'s past transactions within a transaction processing system or a real time geographical location of the offer recipient.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

storing, in a computing apparatus, transaction data related to a plurality of transactions processed at a transaction handler, each of the transactions being processed to make a payment from an issuer to an acquirer via the transaction handler in response to an account identifier of a customer issued by the issuer and submitted by a merchant to the acquirer, the issuer to make the payment on behalf of the customer, the acquirer to receive the payment on behalf of the merchant;

providing, by the computing apparatus, intelligence to select an offer based at leas part on a portion of the transaction data, the offer to be communicated to a first customer in a first communication; and

providing, by the computing apparatus, intelligence to form an announcement related to the offer based at least in part on a portion of the transaction data, the announcement to be communicated to the first customer in a second communication separate from the first communication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the offer is delivered to the first customer via at leas one of:

a physical Point of Sales (POS) terminal, a virtual POS terminal, an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, a computer terminal, an intercommunication system device, a display device, and an audio device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the offer is delivered to a point of interaction in response to an initiation of a first transaction at the point of the interaction, the first transaction involving a payment from the first customer to a first merchant via the transaction handler.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the intelligence to select the offer is based at least in part on context at the point of interaction.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the offer is redeemable in the first transaction.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the offer is redeemable towards a future transaction different from the first transaction.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the offer is provided to the customer together with a receipt for the first transaction and is printed with the receipt.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

identifying a capability of the point of interaction to form the offer based on the capability of the point of interaction.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving an identifier of the first customer;

wherein the offer is selected based at least in part on the identifier.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the identifier comprises a globally unique identifier.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the announcement is delivered to a mobile device of the first customer.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

forming the announcement based on a capability of the mobile device of the first customer; and

transmitting the announcement to the mobile device of the first customer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the offer comprises at least one of:

coupon, incentive, reward, cash back, and discount.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the announcement comprises a reminder to redeem the offer.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the announcement comprises a confirmation of a transaction that uses the offer.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the announcement comprises a notification of a reward for a transaction that uses the offer.

22. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise the forming of the second transmission after:

receiving a physical location of the point of interaction terminal;

determining a map from the physical location of the point of interaction terminal to a physical location of the first said merchant to conduct the future said transaction, wherein;

the map is compatible with the hard copy capability of the point of interaction terminal; and

the offer includes the map.

23. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise the forming of the third transmission after:

sending one or more test signals for delivery to the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

receiving an acknowledgement of the receipt of one said test signal by the mobile electronic device.

74. The computer implemented method of claim 3, wherein the forming of the third transmission further comprises, after the receiving of the acknowledgement of the receipt of the one said test signal by the mobile electronic device:

receiving a physical location of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

determining a map from the physical location of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer to a physical location of the first said merchant to conduct the future said transaction, wherein;

the map is compatible with the soft copy capability of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

the announcement includes the map.

25. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the map comprises instructions for a form of travel selected from the group consisting of:

walking;

public mass transit;

private motorized vehicle;

private non-motorized vehicle; and

a combination thereof.

26. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise:

receiving a fourth transmission including a confirmation that the future said transaction had been conducted;

retrieving, data about a reward corresponding to the confirmation; and

forming a fifth transmission including the data about the reward for delivery to, and rendering as a soft copy upon, the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer.

27. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined period of time is selected from the group consisting of:

prior to an expiration date of the offer;

less than one month after the forming of the second transmission;

prior to a date set by the first said consumer;

while the mobile electronic device is detected to be within a physical location; and

a combination thereof.

28. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise:

receiving a fourth transmission including a confirmation that the future said transaction had been conducted at one said point of interaction terminal of the first said merchant having a corresponding said hard copy capability;

retrieving, using the offer, data about a reward corresponding to the confirmation; and

forming a fifth transmission including the data about the reward for delivery to, and rendering as a hard copy upon, the one said point of interaction terminal of the first said merchant along with a receipt for the future said transaction.

29. The computer implemented method of claim 8, wherein the steps further comprises forming a sixth transmission:

for delivery to at least one of the first said consumer and the first said issuer; and

including information selected from the group consisting of;

data about the offer rendered as the hardcopy upon the point of interaction terminal;

data about the announcement rendered as the softcopy upon the mobile electronic device;

the reward corresponding to the confirmation; and

a total value for a plurality of said rewards corresponding to a plurality of said confirmations.

30. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise receiving a plurality of said first transmissions each including a corresponding said transaction upon the first said account, and wherein the retrieving the offer further includes comparing an offer criterion of the offer with data included in at least one of the first transmissions to find a match.

31. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first transmission further includes at least one of:

a request for a lodging upgrade;

a request for a travel seating upgrade;

one said transaction submitted by one said merchant to a corresponding said acquirer for processing by the transaction handler; and

a combination thereof.

32. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the first transmission includes a second said transaction conducted between a second said merchant and the first said consumer; and

the hard copy capability includes formatting capabilities for printing the offer upon a white space of the receipt.

34. The computer implemented method of claim 13, wherein the steps further comprise the forming of the second transmission after:

receiving a physical location of the point of interaction terminal; and

determining a map from the physical location of the point of interaction terminal to a physical location of the second said merchant to conduct the second said transaction, wherein;

the map is compatible with the hard copy capability of the point of interaction terminal; and

the offer includes the map.

35. The computer implemented method of claim 13, wherein the forming of the third transmission further comprises:

receiving a physical location of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

determining a map from the physical location of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer to a physical location of the second said merchant to conduct the second said transaction, wherein;

the map is compatible with the soft copy capability of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

the announcement includes the map.

36. The computer implemented method of claim 13, wherein the steps further comprise forming a sixth transmission:

for delivery to at least one of the first said consumer and the first said issuer; and

including information selected from the group consisting of;

data about the offer rendered as the hardcopy upon the point of interaction terminal;

data about the announcement rendered as the softcopy upon the mobile electronic device;

the reward corresponding to the confirmation; and

a total value for a plurality of said rewards corresponding to a plurality of said confirmations.

17. A computer storage medium storing instructions, which when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, the method comprising:

storing transaction data related to a plurality of transactions processed at a transaction handler, each of the transactions being processed to make a payment from an issuer to an acquirer via the transaction handler in response to an account identifier of a customer issued by the issuer and submitted by a merchant to the acquirer, the issuer to make the payment on behalf of the customer, the acquirer to receive the payment on behalf of the merchant;

providing intelligence to select a first advertisement based at least in part on a portion of the transaction data, the first advertisement to be communicated to a first customer in a first communication; and

providing intelligence to form a second advertisement related to the first advertisement, the second advertisement to be communicated to the first customer in a second communication separate from the first communication.

18. The medium of claim 17, wherein the first advertisement comprises at least one of:

an offer, a coupon, an incentive, a rebate, a reward, and a discount.

38. The apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the computer readable medium further comprises stored instructions that, when executed by the computing device, the computing device performs the steps of:

receiving a physical location of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

determining a map from the physical location of the mobile electronic device of the consumer to a physical location of the merchant to conduct the future said transaction, wherein;

the map is compatible with the soft copy capability of the mobile electronic device of the consumer; and

the announcement includes the map.

39. The apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the computer readable medium further comprises stored instructions that, when executed by the computing device, the computing device performs the steps of:

receiving a fourth transmission including a confirmation that the future transaction had been conducted;

retrieving, using the offer, data about a reward corresponding to the confirmation; and

forming a fifth transmission including the data about the reward for delivery to, and rendering as a soft copy upon, the mobile electronic device of the consumer.

40. The apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the predetermined period of time is selected from the group consisting of:

prior to an expiration date of the offer;

less than one month after the forming of the second transmission;

prior to a date set by the first said consumer;

while the mobile electronic device is detected to be within a physical location; and

a combination thereof.

19. A computing apparatus, comprising:

a payment engine to process a plurality of transactions, each of the transactions being processed to make a payment from an issuer to an acquirer via the payment engine in response to an account identifier of a customer issued by the issuer and submitted by a merchant to the acquirer, the issuer to make the payment on behalf of the customer, the acquirer to receive the payment on behalf of the merchant;

a data storage device to store transaction data related to the plurality of transactions processed by the payment engine; and

an analytics engine to provide intelligence to select an offer based at least in part on a portion of the transaction data and to provide intelligence to form an announcement related to the offer based at least in part on a portion of the transaction data, the offer to be communicated to a first customer in a first communication, the announcement to be communicated to the first customer in a second communication separate from the first communication.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the payment engine is to receive a request a transaction initiated at a point of interaction for a payment from the first customer to a first merchant;

the offer is provided on the point of interaction in response to the request; and

the announcement is communicated to a mobile device of the first customer.

21. In a transaction processing system that includes a transaction handler processing a plurality of transactions each between a merchant and a consumer upon an account issued to the consumer by an issuer, and each being submitted by the merchant to an acquirer for processing by the transaction handler who requests the issuer to obtain payment for the transaction from the account and the issuer forwarding the payment for delivery to the acquirer to pay the merchant for the transaction, a computer implemented method comprising a plurality of steps each being performed using a computing apparatus executing software, the steps including:

receiving a first transmission having data corresponding to a point of interaction terminal communicatively connected to the transaction processing system and including;

a globally unique identifier of a first said consumer corresponding to a first said account issued by a first said issuer; and

information sufficient to determine a hard copy capability of the point of interaction terminal;

retrieving, using the first globally unique identifier, an offer for the first said consumer that is;

compatible with the hard copy capability of the point of interaction terminal; and

usable towards a future said transaction with a first said merchant;

forming a second transmission including the offer for delivery to, and rendering as a hardcopy upon, the point of interaction terminal along with a receipt associated with the first transmission;

retrieving, using the globally unique identifier;

a soft copy capability of a mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

an announcement corresponding to the offer for the first said consumer that is compatible with the soft copy capability of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

forming a third transmission including the announcement for delivery to, and rendering as a softcopy upon, the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer within a predetermined period of time after the forming of the second transmission.

33. In a transaction processing system that includes a transaction handler processing a plurality of transactions each between a merchant and a consumer upon an account issued to the consumer by an issuer, and each being submitted by the merchant to an acquirer for processing by the transaction handler who requests the issuer to obtain payment for the transaction from the account and the issuer forwarding the payment for delivery to the acquirer to pay the merchant for the transaction, a computer implemented method comprising a plurality of steps each being performed using a computing apparatus executing software, the steps including:

receiving a first transmission having data corresponding to a point of interaction terminal of a first said merchant and including;

a globally unique identifier of a first said consumer corresponding to a first said account issued by a first said issuer, wherein the account is used by the first said consumer to conduct a first said transaction with the first said merchant; and

a hard copy capability of the point of interaction terminal;

retrieving, using the first globally unique identifier, an offer for the first said consumer that is;

compatible with the hard copy capability of the point of interaction terminal; and

usable towards a second said transaction with a second said merchant subsequent to the first said transaction;

forming a second transmission including the offer for delivery to, and rendering as a hardcopy upon, the point of interaction terminal along with a receipt for the first said transaction;

retrieving, using the globally unique identifier;

a soft copy capability of a mobile electronic device of the first said consumer; and

an announcement corresponding to the offer for the first said consumer that is compatible with the soft copy capability of the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer;

forming a third transmission including the announcement for delivery to, and rendering as a softcopy upon, the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer within a predetermined period of time after the forming of the second transmission;

receiving a fourth transmission including a confirmation that the second said transaction had been conducted;

retrieving, using the offer, data about a reward corresponding to the confirmation; and

forming a fifth transmission including the data about the reward for delivery to, and rendering as a soft copy upon, the mobile electronic device of the first said consumer.

37. An apparatus comprising a computer readable medium including stored instructions that, when executed by a computing device, perform the steps of:

receiving a first transmission having data corresponding to a point of interaction terminal communicatively connected to a transaction processing system and including;

a globally unique identifier of a consumer corresponding to an account issued by an issuer within the transaction processing system; and

a hard copy capability of the point of interaction terminal;

retrieving, using the globally unique identifier, an offer for the consumer that is;

compatible with the hard copy capability of the point of interaction terminal; and

usable towards a future transaction with a merchant upon the account;

forming a second transmission including the offer for delivery to, and rendering as a hardcopy upon, the point of interaction terminal along with a receipt associated with the first transmission;

retrieving, using the globally unique identifier;

a soft copy capability of a mobile electronic device of the consumer; and

an announcement corresponding to the offer for the consumer that is compatible with the soft copy capability of the mobile electronic device of the consumer; and

forming a third transmission including the announcement for delivery to, and rendering as a softcopy upon, the mobile electronic device of the consumer within a predetermined period of time after the forming of the second transmission.